But there’s no “forbidden fruit” that gets me more excited than chocolate. Because as growing research shows, this particular indulgence is a bona fide superfood in its own right.

Most recently, the British Journal of Nutrition published a study showing that a daily dose of chocolate may ward off diabetes and insulin resistance. Researchers reviewed data from nearly 1,200 participants in the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk in Luxembourg study.

And results showed that subjects who ate 100 grams of chocolate daily benefited from lower levels of insulin resistance, along with improvements in liver enzymes. (Both key metabolic and heart risk factors.)

Now, I have to say, 100 grams — roughly 3.5 ounces — is a whole lot of chocolate to eat every day. And if it’s the processed kind, packed with questionable fats and sugar, trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to be eating that much of it.

In fact, I’d advise against eating chocolate that contains any sugar at all.

That means skipping right over milk chocolate in favor of pure cacao — at least 80 to 90 percent. But I recommend going for 100 percent cocoa powder.

I won’t lie — it isn’t going to taste good by itself. But that’s easy to fix.

Just mix it with unsweetened almond or coconut milk, along with a little bit of stevia (just enough to cut the bitterness). The resulting concoction is one of my favorite treats.